A Shadow's Puzzle
by DragonflyxParodies
Summary: Legend tells of a green hero who rose above the darkness devouring Hyrule and saved the Sacred Realm from an evil monster, freeing the land from its terrible grip. But what if those legends are lies put in place by a tyrant, a monster so terrible Ganondorf himself quaked to gaze upon him? What if a shadow saved Hyrule…but green vengeance took the Dark King's life? (Cont. Below)
1. Summary

Legend tells of a green hero who rose above the darkness devouring Hyrule and saved the Sacred Realm from an evil monster, freeing the land from its terrible grip.

But what if those legends are lies put in place by a tyrant, a monster so terrible Ganondorf himself quaked to gaze upon him? What if a shadow saved Hyrule…but green vengeance took the Dark King's life? What if a shadow fought for the people…even when they knew nothing of their enemy?

For seventeen years, Chain battled for life, life that was denied to him by one he worshiped. For seventeen years, he refused to give up-and he won. But when the time came to save the Princess and destroy the Monster, the one who tried to keep him from living took his place. Now, after being sent back in time so that his enemy could 'relive his childhood', he finds himself free, but fighting against the very forces he once saved.

And so the people look to the darkness to find light.

[^Full summary of A Shadow's Puzzle. Also posted on Quizilla, if anyone has read it there before!]


	2. Prisoner

His sword split the air in front of him with its wary edge, as he crept slowly down the dungeon hall. He had spent a long time studying castle plans before managing to find a way into the dungeons of this castle, and he wasn't about to waste it by getting caught. Chain's black clothing blended in well with the lack of torches, as he passed empty cell after empty cell. There were no prisoners here; something he did not understand fully. He understood that crime had supposedly decreased within Hyrule, but there should have been _someone_ in the dungeons. Apprehension flooded him as he moved forward, and heard voices.

"Insane the Queen has four of us down here guarding her." A man's voice muttered.

"Like your complaining!" Another male voice shot back. Laughter rang.

"I'm not saying it's a bad job-but she can't do nothing, and at most we need, what? Two men, one who goes in there and the other to watch?" The first retorted. Chain stealthily moved forward, until he could see the speakers. They sat at a table, both dressed in standard guard uniforms.

"The Queen thinks she's dangerous." The second replied, shrugging.

"And, anyway, there's only three today. You, me, and Brent." The second added.

"Tom's sick, that's why. And Brent's in there, havin' fun-when he's done you going in?" Chain felt bile rise in his throat, realizing exactly what the men talked about so comfortably. He abandoned all caution, disgust and horror driving him. He moved forward, driving his blade through the chair and directly into the first soldier's heart. He released his sword and held a hand out, his hand clenching over a jewel in his gauntlet. A raging torrent of fire enveloped the second, sucking the breath out of his lungs and keeping him silent as his clothing burned, and skin blackened. Chain used all of his magical energy on burning the man to a crisp, and even after he had died, he kept the fire going until the jewel cut itself off. His blood stained the crystalline surface, and he dropped his hand to his side, absently wiping the substance on his tunic. He dragged his sword out of the chair with little difficulty, thanks to his gauntlets themselves, and proceeded on, out of the guard's chamber and into the final dungeon hall. Empty cell after empty cell, he saw nothing. Then, he heard a muffled scream, and a multitude of violent curses. His pace quickened until he was running, and he halted quickly when he reached the last cell. The door was open, and it was totally dark-but he could see perfectly. A girl, pinned to a narrow bed by a large, angry guard. The guard had been at it for a time, by the girl's bruised body and the fresh blood staining the walls. He raised his hand without thinking, releasing what was only a fraction of his true rage. The man went flying into a wall without warning, unable to make so much as a sound as Chain's power ripped his body apart. Bits of flesh and bone rained down, blood gently pattering on his hair, even though he stood outside the cell. The girl watched his parody, something close to awe in her eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked quietly, her voice barely audible.

"How long have you been down here?" He asked, his voice harsh, cold. She hesitated, then shrugged, her long hair falling in front of her face.

"I don't know." He studied her quietly. She was painfully thin, and her skin was extremely pale. Her hair was very dark, telling him she hadn't seen the light of day in what must have been years. Her skin was stained with blood, but she wasn't filthy, so _someone_ must have been taking care of her, other than the guards. He could see no clothing in the room besides the guard's, and without hesitating dropped his gear, yanking off his own tunic and handing it to her. She flinched, but slowly came forward and grabbed it, pulling it on. He realized just how cold it was within the dungeon then, and scowled as he pulled his gear back on, frowning as it dug into his skin. He glanced at her, and his frown deepened. His tunic hung on her shoulders, her collar bone jutting out painfully beneath her skin. It hung to her knees, and as she hesitantly walked forward, he realized just how tall he was. Mentally smacking himself, he started walking down the hall, drawing his sword again.

"Why are you down here?" A silence met his words.

"My…my father did something that was…misunderstood. The Queen killed him, and to atone for his…mistakes…I was put down here." Rage threatened to choke him, and he clenched his teeth in fury. So this was what Hyrule was now. A place where girls were imprisoned for what their father's had done, criminals left to run free while innocents rotted in jail. A place where a witch with a brilliant smile ruled, with a monster at her side. How he loathed Hyrule, in that moment. After everything he had done…

"And you've always been alone down here?" The words left him before he realized he had said them.

"Ye….No. Once….once there was a child, but the guards tortured him until he died. I remember his screams…" She trailed off, and hate again choked him.

"And sometimes…a man would come here who looked like you. He was just like the guards." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Why do you trust me?" He suddenly asked, his voice cracking with the weight of all that the other one-the one called Link-had done. He turned, his fierce gaze locking on her eyes.

"I can feel shadows in other's souls. _You_ are a complete shadow." She whispered, walking forward until her neck was craned up to see his face.

"And that's a good thing?"

"I said shadow, not evil. Darkness isn't evil." She said, frowning at him. Puzzled, he looked at her. Why would darkness, something purely made of the forgotten and hurt, _not _be considered evil? After bearing his searching gaze for a few minutes, she shifted slightly, shivering in the cold. Blinking himself out of his thoughts, he turned and resumed leading the way out. He led her into an empty cell by the staircase that led up, into the light of the castle, and entered the cell. He spoke a word in the ancient tongue, and the wall flickered and vanished. He heard her suck in a sharp breath, but didn't glance at her as he started forward. She followed him through a winding maze of twists and turns, her wrist like glass in his grip as he led her through the darkness she couldn't see through.

"You're…very warm." She said after a moment. Surprised by her comment, he glanced over his shoulder at her. Her eyes were shut, her lips pulled into a frown. He didn't reply. He didn't know what she meant. Were others colder than he was, usually? He shook his head in disgust at the thought. He wasn't normal, he should know by now even little things would differ between him and others. But her comment still bothered him. Faint light began to illuminate the end of the passage, and he pulled her out into a clearing of trees. A stallion waited for him, sharp brown eyes studying the girl distrustfully as he led her to the animal. The stallion was dark grey in color, and she laughed softly as the animal snorted at her.

"He looks like Ebon!" She exclaimed softly, gently stroking the stallion's nose.

"Cipher would normally kill anyone who dare touch him." He mused softly, swinging himself up upon the stallion. He helped her up, realizing how exhausted she was only when her trembling body leaned against his chest. She burrowed into him, as Cipher began the trek home.

"Thank you." She whispered, her voice barely audible.

"What's your name?" He asked suddenly, looking down at her. Her purple-blue eyes opened and looked up at him for a second.

"Asra. What's yours?" She asked, studying him intently. His gaze rose to the black horizon above Cipher's head.

"Chain." He said, not looking at her. And then she fell asleep, leaving him alone with his hateful, angry thoughts on his way to a long abandoned home.


	3. Monsters in White

Ruto watched her best friend slam his fist into a wall repeatedly, silent as blood splattered his body-and the wall. He continuously drew his arm back, his all-consuming rage more powerful than her magic could ever be. There was the sharp crack as his hand finally shattered completely. Yet still he continued smashing his mangled limb into the wall, impervious to the agony that must have been consuming his every movement. Finally, she reached forward and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to turn and face her. There was a deep, nearly tangible anguish in his eyes when they met hers, and she pulled him into a hug, wordlessly.

"Why, Ruto? After everything-after all that I've done, all that _you've_ done…Why?" He asked hoarsely, releasing her and sliding to the ground. She slowly settled beside him, as he ran his un-pulverized hand through his black hair. It was shaggy now, hiding his eyes from the world.

"Link is…he was supposed to be a Hero. You broke apart from him-you nearly killed him-and the Sages didn't so much as bat an eyelash at him. They told you to save them, and Hyrule. You did-you helped _Hyrule_ heal, _Hyrule _find hope. You never had an interest in killing Ganondorf or saving Zelda, or even protecting the Sacred Realm. You had bested Link in every way he had ever stood out. So…he did what he did in retaliation against you, Chain." Ruto finally sighed.

Link would never honor their engagement-Chain was perfectly correct in his descriptions of just what Link was, she had to give him that-but they were still engaged, and until Link died or honored the engagement, she couldn't marry. That was half of what was fueling Chain's rage, she knew.

The other half was the paper lying, elegantly curled, on Ruto's desk. The Zora stood and walked over to the desk, picking it up. Link was the Queen's most trusted soldier, so high up in the ranks-his actual rank one Zelda had made up to allow him absolute authority (Beside's herself, of course)-he could order an entire village to be slaughtered, no questions or reason needed.

And that was what he had done.

Ordon, a small village near the Lost Woods, was going to be razed and burned, the people to be treated as enemies, raped and plundered and killed once the soldier's had had their fun. And despite all of her digging, despite all of her research, _despite_ the fact her intellect was challenged only by Queen Zelda herself, she could find only a scrap of information regarding why.

According to a tiny sentence found in a book so old it had literally fallen apart in her hands after she had read it (She had cried uncontrollably upon the fate of the poor book, and required an hour of Chain attempting to calm her down before she had regained control of herself), Ordon would be the birthplace of the next Hero. The next incarnation of Link.

"Why, Ruto?" He finally asked, voice hoarse.

"Chain, the one thing he fears above all else is _you_. He was born with you in his mind, the two of you battling for control. This new Hero, himself in another life…would be born, and he would be born with another you as well! Think about it! He knows you've stopped aging-he knows when he went back after Ganondorf's defeat, although you went as well you didn't rejoin him or grow young again. Now he fears you will live forever-and with another Hero born, another Shadow, there will be two of you!" She cried, turning to face him. She was terrified, terrified that Link was actually going to go through with it, terrified her people would honor the request and send soldiers of their own, terrified for Chain's safety.

But above all, she was terrified of what Zelda had become.

"Ruto-" Chain cut himself off, looking shocked at her outburst.

"It's only a theory." She added softly, hugging herself tightly as she slowly withdrew. Chain stood up and walked over to her, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. She let him wrap her arms around her, and took comfort in the hot blood trickling down her shoulder, to fall from her skin and hit the ground. It told her he was still alive, still alright. Ironically.

"I'm going to stop him." Chain vowed softly. She laughed humorlessly and pulled away, looking at him.

"I know you will. Now, sit so I can patch that up. You don't need to get there and die by petty soldiers." She said, pointing to her desk. He rolled his eyes and pulled himself up onto the furniture, idly swinging his legs while she dug around for bandages.

Chain would stop Link. She knew he would.

He had too.


End file.
